


Faithful and Loyal

by casness



Category: S.W.A.T.: Firefight (2011), Suits (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, Death References, F/M, First Time, Hiatus, Hostage Situation, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Past Relationship(s), Unresolved Sexual Tension, War, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-02-27
Updated: 2012-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-31 19:31:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/347598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casness/pseuds/casness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>On hiatus</b> Fill for this <a href="http://suitsmeme.livejournal.com/3323.html?thread=3860731#t3860731">prompt</a> at Suits Meme. Harvey is in charge of an Emergency Service Unit (ESU) aka S.W.A.T. team consisting of Donna, Rachel and Harold in New York and since his first sniper retired, he has yet to fill that role. Mike Ross, a newly qualified member for the ESU comes onto the team from LA, his past history with Paul, Harvey's twin brother makes it easier for Harvey. </p><p>In the midst of trying to get to know Mike, Harvey needs to deal with a psychopath trying to kill his family, Donna's matchmaking, and Paul's strange blessing and his protective and <i>unacceptable</i> feelings for his new co-worker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd. Since this is set in New York City, their ESU (Emergency Service Unit) functions as a SWAT team. So, I’ll be using both terms.
> 
> Warning: This fanfic contains hostage situations, death references both in the S.W.A.T. setting and in a war zone.

Harvey sat in the ESU armoury at a New York City police station, cleaning his shotgun when he heard door open and the sound of heels and a second pair of footsteps walking toward him. He didn’t look up when the two people stopped near him.  
  
“Harvey,” said Captain Jessica Pearson, trying to get his attention. The young man next to her shifted nervously. She glanced at him, which caused him to stop shifting and straighten up.  
  
Harvey sighed and lazily looked up at Jessica. He put the shotgun down on the table and leaned back in the chair. “Jessica, it’s so nice to see you this early in the day. What brings you to ESU today? Don’t you have a luncheon with the Chief?” he said, smirking at her. He glanced at the man standing next to her and raised an eyebrow.  _Not another one_ , he thought as he took in the man’s appearance.  
  
“That’s Captain Pearson to you, Lieutenant Specter,” replied Jessica, “This is Officer Michael Ross,” motioning to Mike, “He’s transferred here from Los Angeles S.W.A.T. and has been assigned to your team.”  
  
“Nice to meet you, Sir,” said Mike, smiling slightly at Harvey.  
  
Harvey glanced at Mike then looked at Jessica, “Really? Are you sure that you want to assign another one to my team?”  
  
“Harvey,” Jessica leaned forward, placing her hands on the table, “You need another member and you did say you wanted the best. Michael Ross is the best. He’s trained and certified.” Noticing that Harvey was still unwilling to accept Michael, Jessica continued, “You  _will_  play nice. He’ll be on a probationary period with you, if you want to keep him after six months that’s fine. If not, Louis did say he wanted a new sniper.”  
  
Harvey nodded.  
  
“Good,” Jessica straightened up and nodded at the two men. “I’ll be off then. Good luck, Officer Ross and welcome again to our city,” she said before leaving the two men alone.  
  
“L.A. SWAT?” asked Harvey looking over Mike. He was fit though shorter and thinner than the previous ones that Jessica tried to assign to his team. But he was drawn to Mike’s eyes, which were a bright and vibrant blue.   
  
“Yes, sir,” answered Mike, “I’ve worked on Lt. Cutler’s team. Umm...if you don’t mind-”  
  
“Yes, he’s my twin brother. No, we don’t see see each other often,” interrupted Harvey. He smirked when he saw Mike blush. Standing up, Harvey motioned Mike to follow him.  
  
“I’ll show you to  the locker room so you can put your stuff down. The layout of this place is simple. This is the armoury. All weapons are stored here. Garage is through that door, break room and then the locker room through here,” explained Harvey as they walked past the mentioned places. Once they got to the locker room, Harvey lead Mike to an empty locker.“This will be your locker,” said Harvey, sitting down on the bench, “you can store whatever you want in it. We prefer weapons to be stored in the gun safe.”  
  
“Right. Thank you, Si-”  
  
“Don’t call me sir, it makes me feel like my father. You can call me Harvey or Lt. Specter, when we’re out on the field,” interrupted Harvey.  
  
Mike nodded and put down his bag on the bench near Harvey. He opened up the bag and took a change of clothing and an empty gym bag and placed them on the bench.  
  
As Mike took off his jacket and started to sort out his stuff, Harvey remarked, “There are some ground rules. I assume that you’ve been briefed on how the ESU operates?”  
  
“Yes, si- Harvey. You are a specialized team that assists the NYPD in any sort of case including hostage rescue and functioning as S.W.A.T.”  
  
Harvey nodded, “You’ll have to read up on our procedures. We’ll start training tomorrow.” He stood up and walked to the door of the locker room. Just as he got to the end of the row of lockers, he leaned against one.  
  
“Training?” asked Mike, looking at Harvey.  
  
“Training. We do things differently in New York. I’m sure that Paul made sure to train you in some of our procedures and you’ve had training before being assigned to our squad,” seeing Mike nod, he continued, “but we still need to see how you function with the team. You’ll officially start tomorrow. I’ll go get the handbook for you to look over tonight.”  
  
“There’s no need. I’ve read it already.”  
  
“It won’t hurt to read it again,” stated Harvey.  
  
“I have an eidetic memory. Anything that I read, I remember.”  
  
Harvey raised his eyebrow. “Tell me the standard procedure when a situation involves a barricaded mentally ill person,” challenged Harvey.  
  
Mike smiled slightly and began to recite word for word the appropriate procedure for the situation. “Anything else?” he asked when he finished.  
  
“No,” said Harvey smiling. “You know where the training grounds are?”  
  
Mike nodded.  
  
“Be there at 0700 tomorrow. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team and we’ll run a scenario together.”  
  
“0700? Were you also in the military?”   
  
Harvey looked at him, “Paul didn’t tell you?” Seeing Mike shake his head no, Harvey continued, “I have to keep some secrets, Rookie. Maybe I’ll tell you eventually, if you last that is.”  
  
Seeing Mike nod and smile slightly, Harvey thought  _He’s attractive when he smiles_. He went to the door but turned around before exiting and asked, “Why did you transfer?”  
  
Mike’s smile froze at Harvey’s question. “Family problems,” he answered, sadness apparent in his voice.  
  
Harvey nodded and walked out, his fists clenched at his sides. Just seeing Mike sad made him want to embrace him and not let go. “Yeah that will go over well,” muttered Harvey as he walked back to the armory.  _I’ll have to talk to Paul about him_ , he thought as he sat back down to finish cleaning his shotgun.


	2. The angry husband

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harvey has lunch with Donna before getting a call to deal with a hostage situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a hostage situation.

By the time Harvey finished cleaning the shotgun and checking over the rest of his equipment, Donna had come to get him for lunch. The two went to their favorite deli near the station. 

“So, how was the Rookie?” asked Donna once they sat down at a table near the window. She took out her Chicken Caesar Salad from the plastic bag and unwrapped the plastic fork. 

Harvey glanced at her while unwrapping his sandwich. He handed a napkin over to Donna, who mouthed “thanks”.

“He’s...qualified,” said Harvey after taking a bite of his sandwich, “hmm...this is excellent.”

“It’s always excellent, Harvey. That’s one of the reasons why we come to this place. And you’re avoiding the subject, which means that there’s something that you either liked or hated. What was wrong with him?” asked Donna, in between eating.

“Nothing, at least so far. He trained in New York for some time before being assigned to us and he worked with Paul in L.A.”

Donna nodded, “So, that’s the problem. You never did like second hand items.”

Harvey glared at Donna.

“What? You and Paul always competed for things, including girlfriends. I’m not surprised that you both would also compete for men,” said Donna, ignoring Harvey’s glare.

“It’s not that. He just...I’m sure that he had a good life out in L.A. Why come to this city, especially when he worked closely with Paul?”

“He was his second?” asked Donna. Seeing Harvey nod, she continued, “Wow. I’ll see what I can find out about his transfer.”

Harvey nodded, “You know me too well.”

“Of course, on the same team for 6 years. Not to mention that we grew up together.”

“By the way, we have training tomorrow. I want to see how he fits with the rest of the team. Want the pleasure of being there when I talk to Louis about being primary for a couple of days?”

Donna choked on a piece of chicken and started to cough. She took the bottle of water that Harvey handed her and drank. “You can’t say that when I’m eating!” she exclaimed, “Of course, I’ll be there.”

“Though why a couple of days?” she asked.

“I want to see what he knows. Not to mention we still need to introduce him to the rest of the team. Couple of days would give us time to get to know him, fit him in the team and make sure that he’s up on the procedures.”

Donna nodded.

The rest of lunch was spent discussing the rest of the team and Louis’ latest antics. When they got back to the station, Donna left to inform the rest of the team of Harvey’s decision to train tomorrow with Mike. Harvey, meanwhile, met with Jessica about making Louis’ team, alpha until he knew how Mike would function with the rest of his team and to pick up Mike’s file. 

After the meeting with Jessica was interrupted by a request for a SWAT team, Harvey rushed to the garage and found the rest of his team waiting for him. 

“Let’s move out,” he said to Donna, who in turn tapped the driver that they were all ready to move out. “What’s the situation?” Harvey continued as he put on his ballistics vest. 

“The first responders said that they responded to a call from the neighbors. When they got there, found a middle aged man with a gun holding his ex-wife hostage. He barricaded himself in her apartment,” replied Donna.

The ride to the scene was four minutes. When they got there, Harvey went to talk to the first responders, two patrol officers. After getting the situation from them, he noticed that Kyle was there. Harvey sighed as he walked up to Kyle. 

“What are you doing here? Go back to your patrol,” said Harvey to Kyle.

“I was with the first responders when they got the call. I can help,” stated Kyle. He was Louis’ second and had a knack for being first on scene.

“No. Kyle, I don’t care. This is my call and as head of the responding squad, you’re not getting involved. Now leave, before I have to talk to Louis about you,” said Harvey before rejoining his team.

“He’s still trying for us?” asked Donna motioning towards Kyle, who got into his car and drove away. 

Harvey nodded and said, “Donna, you’re coming in with me. Harold, get me a secure connection. Rachel,” Harvey glanced around the neighborhood, “go to that building and get a clear sight on the target.” 

Seeing Rachel start to protest, he continued, “Stop. Until we get through training the next couple of days with Mike, you’ll be the sharpshooter.”

He turned to the group, “Let’s move people. We’ve got a hostage situation to diffuse.”

Rachel took out the sniper rifle from the truck and with a nod to Harvey, ran into the building across the street.

Before Harvey and Donna headed into the apartment building, Harold handed Harvey the phone number of the wife and a secure cell phone. Sitting in the truck, Harold started to the official record.

Harvey called up the phone number as soon as Donna and he entered the building. They rushed up the stairs to the third floor and just before reaching the stairs, someone answered the on the other end. 

“Who is this?” answered a man.

“This is Lt. Harvey Specter with the New York Police Department Emergency Service Unit. Who is this?” Harvey answered. He motioned for Donna to stop as they reached the third floor. The other policemen of NYPD were already standing near the door to the apartment.

“Nick. This is none of your concern, Lt. Harvey Specter. Just like I told the other cops that came before. This is between me and this cheating bitch,” said Nick.

“I’m here to see if we can resolve this peacefully, Nick. There’s no need for anyone to die today.” Harvey glanced down the hallway then at Donna and motioned to his earpiece.

Donna nodded and asked in her earpiece, “Rachel, do you have a visual?” She waited for a reply then said, “You have less.”

She turned to Harvey and shook her head no. 

Harvey grimaced and continued to try to talk down the husband. He managed to get the husband to talk and explain what had happened in their divorce, how the ‘cheating bitch’ took his money and his kids. By the time, he had the husband calmed down enough to talk face-to-face, Donna and he were already near the apartment door. Harvey had motioned the other police officers back.

Before knocking on the door, he glanced at Donna, who confirmed that Rachel had a visual. 

“Nick, it’s Lt. Harvey Specter. I’m going to come in now,” Harvey announced opening the door slowly. 

“He’s right ahead of you, facing the door,” Harvey heard Rachel say through the earpiece.

Harvey opened the door and looked in to see the man holding his wife at gunpoint. Harvey noticed that the wife had a shortness of breath and was still sobbing. He entered the apartment, aiming his own weapon at Nick.

“Nick,” Harvey said, “put the gun down. Remember what we just talked about. Your wife needs medical treatment.”

Nick tightened the hold on his wife in response. “No, man,” he said, “I can’t.” He shook his head.

Donna came from the other side, aiming a CAW launcher at Nick. 

“Do you have it?” asked Harvey, putting his pistol away.

Donna nodded and fired at Nick’s right arm that held the gun. 

The disruptor shell impacted with Nick’s hand and sprayed water. It had knocked Nick back and loosened his hold on the gun. 

Just as shell impacted, Harvey rushed forward, grabbing the hostage and pushing her toward an NYPD officer then grabbing the Nick’s gun and aiming it towards Nick. Nick held his arms up, still stunned from the shot.

“He’s all yours,” said Harvey to the officers now entering the room. He handed Nick’s weapon to one of them before leaving the apartment with Donna.

The two got to the truck and were putting away their weapons just as Rachel came out from the building across the street. 

Just as Harvey was about to say something to Rachel, a police officer shouted and waved Harvey over for a statement to put on record. Harvey instead smiled slightly and nodded at her before walking away. After giving his statement, Harvey returned back to the truck and found that everyone was ready to go back to the station. 

“That was a disruptor shell, right?” asked Rachel, when Harvey got in and closed the door.

“Yes,” he replied, not wanting to tell them anything more.

“Paul suggested that we try it out. He started to use them a couple of years ago,” added Donna.

Rachel smiled, “Figures. He’s pretty creative and hot.” She had met him the last time that Paul was in New York, a year ago. 

“Are you telling that I’m not creative?” asked Harvey, which resulted in a discussion of Harvey's creativity. 

The friendly banter regarding Harvey’s versus Paul’s creativity lasted the entire ride back to the station. 

When they arrived back, Harvey left Rachel and Harold to handle the restock and check over the truck while he and Donna went to tell Louis about his team being alpha. Louis’ reaction wasn’t what Harvey or Donna had expected, especially since Jessica had already talked to Louis while Harvey’s team was on call. After Donna glared at him and stated that he owed her dinner for that disappointment, Harvey headed to his office to do his report.

It was 9 p.m. by the time Harvey got done going through reports and evaluations. He looked up when he heard a knock on the door. Seeing Donna, he gestured her to come in.

“Up for a drink?” she asked. She had already changed into her casual clothing and was ready to head home for the day.

“Not tonight.”

Donna nodded. She noticed Mike’s file on the top of Harvey desk, “You’re planning on reading that tonight?”

Harvey took the report and put it in his bag, “Yes and call up Paul. Go have a drink for me.”

“We’re heading to Rose’s, if you want to stop by,” she said before turning to leave. 

She stopped and turned to look at him, “Harvey, don’t ask Paul about them. There may be some things that you don’t want to hear.”

Harvey nodded. He thought back to Mike and how seeing the man sad had affected him. “Don’t worry about me.”

Donna smiled slightly and walked away. Just outside Harvey’s office, she whispered, “But someone has to.”


	3. Calling Paul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harvey's calls with Paul.

A few minutes after Donna left with the others, Harvey packed up his things and dropped off the paperwork he finished at Jessica’s office. He said a brief greeting to the night shift team then headed out of the station into the cold November air. 

Harvey adjusted the strap on his bag, put his hands in his jacket pockets and started to walk toward the subway. 

“Mr. Specter! Mr. Specter, over here!” shouted a voice from a black limo. 

Harvey frowned before turning around and greeting Ray with a smile, “Ray, I’ve told you before to call me, Harvey. Anyway, how are you doing?” The what are you doing here? went unspoken. Harvey noticed that Ray was dressed in his usual work suit.

“Harvey,” Ray replied smiling, walking towards Harvey, “I’m good. The kids are good. Mr. Specter sent me here.”

“That’s good to hear. Say hello to the missus from me. I hope that it’s something urgent because I had a busy day today and an early start tomorrow,” stated Harvey. He followed Ray to the limo and waited for Ray to open the door before getting in.

“Nothing like that. He was at the luncheon with the Police Chief and Captain Pearson today,” replied Ray getting in the driver’s seat. Ray adjust the mirror to look at Harvey and started to drive to Harvey’s apartment. 

“So he was reminded that he had a son?” Harvey questioned. 

The relationship between Adam Specter and Harvey had devolved to mere acquaintances by the time Harvey was 18. After the divorce, Harvey had blamed Adam for not fighting for not his mom and Paul to stay. And he didn’t try to correct me, thought Harvey as he remembered finding out the real reason for the divorce, the infidelity practiced by both, only five years after. 

“Harvey, he really does love you. He asks about you and -”

“Ray, stop,” interrupted Harvey, “He never supported my decision to become part of ESU or to go into the military. The only time that he’s concerned about me or Paul is when it’s important for his image to acknowledge his two sons.” 

Harvey leaned back in the seat and looked out the window. The rest of the ride to Harvey’s apartment was silent. When Ray pulled up to the apartment building, Harvey opened the door, grabbed his bag from the seat and got out. Before closing the door, Harvey looked at Ray and said, “Listen, I understand what you’re trying to do but it’s too late. Thanks for the lift.”

Harvey got out his keys from his jacket pocket and walked inside the apartment building. It was a brief and quiet ride up to his floor and walk to his apartment. As soon as he got to his apartment, Harvey shut and locked the door. He took off his jacket and put it on the hook near the door then went to the kitchen for a drink. He tossed his bag on the couch on the way.

Exiting the kitchen with a drink of Bourbon in hand, he sat down on the couch and opened the bag to pull out Mike’s file. For the next 30 minutes, he read through the file. _No military experience. Born in New York, parents deceased, but why are you back here, Mike Ross?_ thought Harvey. Nothing in the file suggests anything wrong with Mike Ross. Aside from a bad experience with a hostage lost prior to joining Paul’s team, Mike Ross had no reason to leave LA. _Unless he left because of Paul_ , reasoned Harvey. 

He sighed before pulling out his phone. He finished off the rest of the Bourbon in his glass before placing it on the glass coffee table. He pressed call and waited until Paul picked up the phone.

“Cutler,” greeted Paul, picking up the phone.

“Is that what you say when Adam calls?” questioned Harvey, smirking at how Paul answers his phone.

“Harvey, it’s good to hear from you. No, I usually don’t pick up for him. He has his own ringtone and leaves a message if he wants something. I take it as Ray picked you up today since you’re talking about Adam?” answered Paul.

“Ray was talking about him today. He probably wants something but I don’t care anymore. Adam is not the reason I called though,” replied Harvey.

“You’ve met Mike today,”

“Yeah. I looked over his file, Paul. He’s good, top marks in sniper school, some good records from there as well. Paul, why is he here? From everything in his file, he had no reason to transfer,”

“He is the best, Harvey. That’s one of the reasons why he was my second,” answered Paul, avoiding the question.

“Paul, stop. Did you break up with him? Did you cheat? There’s no way that the two of you weren’t together. He is exactly your type.”

Harvey heard Paul sigh before Paul began to talk, “He had some family issues in New York. I pushed him to submit an application for the ESU, talked to a few people and got him on your team. He’s good, Harvey. The best that you probably will ever see. As for our relationship, fine, we slept together. We dated against regulations but we parted on good terms, Harvey. I care for him and moving to New York was necessary for him.”

Harvey sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back into the couch. He briefly felt sad for Paul’s lose and jealousy over their relationship before he pushed those feelings down. It would do no good thinking about him in that way, especially if he had dated Paul. 

Harvey took a deep breath before starting to talk to Paul about Mike’s training and his plans for tomorrow. He wanted to know where Mike was weak and what would challenge his abilities. 

The two brothers talked for the next hour about potential tactics, their mother and how their respective teams were doing. 

Before saying goodbye, Paul said, “Harvey, Mike’s a good man. He’s young but he’s got a lot of potential. Also, little brother, he’s not just my type but yours as well,” hearing that Harvey started to protest, Paul continued, “I’m not saying that you should sleep with him but our relationship ended long before Mike moved to New York. So, if you want him and grow to love him, then know that I won’t stand in your way. Now, I have to go finish paperwork. Bye, Harvey.” 

Before Harvey could reply, Paul had hung up the phone. “Bye,” he whispered before placing the phone on the coffee table. Harvey sat back and thought about the possible scenario for tomorrow. 

When he finalized his plan, he stood up, took his phone and went to the bedroom. There he attached his phone to the charger, stripped off his uniform and got into bed. His alarm clock had already been set to ring at 5 AM. It did not take Harvey long to fall asleep but his dreams this night would leave him restless.


	4. Interlude with Mike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short interlude with Mike.

It was 11 at night by the time that Mike came home. After he finished at the station, he headed to the gym for it daily workout. Then he spent most of the day catching up with Jenny and Trevor.    
  
It was only when he was walking through the door to his apartment that Mike realized that Harvey probably didn’t know about him and Paul.  _Better if he doesn’t_ , thought Mike putting his bag and keys down.   
  
Mike took off his jacket and his shirt before he walked over to the message machine to check the messages. He pressed play and proceeded to listen to the 3 messages.   
  
_Mr. Ross, this is Miss Jensen from the Isabella Geriatric Center. I’m calling to confirm that we received your last payment of 10,250 dollars 35 cent. This payment will cover the next two months. Your next payment will be..._  Mike deleted the message before it finished.    
  
“Paul,” he whispered, knowing exactly who paid it.   
  
The next message,  _Mike, I guess you’re not home. I hope that you’re doing well. I guess by know you know._   
  
“Yeah,” remarked Mike    
  
_Listen, consider it a going away present from the team. You know you needed it. At least until you get settled in completely. I...we’ll talk later. Take care of yourself,_  the recording finished.   
  
Mike deleted the third message when he heard that it was a telemarketer and repeated the second message before deleting it.    
  
He was going to have to talk to Paul about the money and Harvey but later on. Mike stripped the rest of his clothes before going to shower. While in the shower, his cellphone flashed with a text message:  _Harvey knows. Call me if he gives you any trouble._


	5. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harvey has a nightmare. Mike gets introduced to the rest of the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: references to death in a war zone.

_”WE’VE GOT A MAN DOWN!” Harvey heard being shouted across the street. He glanced quickly at the man shouting before sitting up and returning fire at the resistance forces at the end of the street._

_“This entire mission’s gone to shit,” said the man next to Harvey._

_Harvey nodded and ducked back under cover to reload his weapon. He glanced back across the street and noticed that the man who had shouted, was leaning against a dumpster, clutching his right side. His partner was propped up against the wall of the building, also behind the cover of the dumpster._

_“Shit,” swore Harvey. He tapped the man near him on the shoulder and shouted, “Cover me.”_

_Harvey took out a smoke grenade and tossed one into the street before sprinting across to the wounded soldier. When he got there, he was breathing hard but managed to get behind the same dumpster the man was using for cover._

_“Mitchell!” shouted Harvey, gripping the man’s shoulder. Getting only a glance in response, Harvey moved Mitchell’s arm from the wound. Harvey swallowed to get ride of the tightness in his throat at the sight of the blood soaking his uniform. He leaned Mitchell onto him and checked for an exit wound, finding one he sighed in relief. He leaned him back against the dumpster and went to check on the other solider. Putting a finger on his throat to check the pulse, Harvey swore when he didn’t feel one._

_“Mitchell, hey, come on, stay with me, solider,” he whispered frantically, moving back to sit by Mitchell’s side._

_“Sarge,” whispered Mitchell before coughing up blood, “I don’t think I’m going to make it.”_

_“Shut up. You will. Mitchell, look at me” Harvey lifted Mitchell’s head to look him in the eyes but it wasn’t Mitchell that was looking back at him._

_“Mike,” Harvey whispered, shocked to find Mike Ross in his arms instead of Mitchell. He felt Mitchell’s...no Mike’s body go limp._

“MIKE!” shouted Harvey sitting up in his bed. His body covered in sweat. He sat there, trying to calm his breathing and his heart. It was just a dream, Harvey, thought Harvey. The fight in the street didn’t happen that way, Harvey was sent in with another team to recon that sector of the city. When they got to that street, they were met with heavy resistance. Harvey had ordered the retreat after Mitchell’s partner was badly wounded. Mitchell, himself was only hit in the leg and not the abdomen. They had barely managed to get out of the area to a landing zone to be evac’d.

Once he calmed down enough, Harvey glanced at the clock and noticed that it was 4:50 AM. He sighed as he tossed the blanket off to the side and got out of bed. He shut of the alarm for 5:00 AM and went to the bathroom to do his morning routine. After he was done in the bathroom, Harvey came back into the bedroom with just a towel around his waist. He put his dirty clothes in the laundry hamper and got dressed to be warm in the cold November day before going to the kitchen. There, he made himself breakfast, drank a cup of coffee then sorted out his bag, putting into the bag an extra pair of pants and turtleneck before exiting the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Harvey got to the field, it was 6:20 AM, at least by his watch. He went to the locker room, where he said a brisk hello to another officer then went out on the track. He stretched for a bit before deciding to run a couple of laps to warm up.

He ended up running more than just a couple of laps, a fact that he realized when he noticed Donna running next to him and the rest of the squad behind them. He stopped, turned around and held up his fist, signalling his team to stop.

Donna stopped, leaned down and took deep breaths while waiting for Harold and Rachel taught up a minute afterwards. She grinned and Harvey before hold up one arm and pointing to a person walking toward them from the other side.

Harvey turned around to see at whom Donna was pointing and saw that it was Mike walking towards them. He waved him to hurry up and Mike started to jog. Mike reached Harvey and Donna shortly after Harold and Rachel.

“Morning,” greeted Harvey. He grinned when group grumbled ‘good morning’ in return.

“This is Michael Ross,” Harvey started to introduce Mike to the rest of the team.

“Mike is good,” interjected Mike.

Harvey glanced at him before continuing, “He’s joining us on a probationary period from L.A. SWAT. He’s been trained in ESU guidelines and procedures but for the next two days we will run a couple of scenarios to find out how he fits in with us.

“Mike, this is Donna Paulsen, our explosives specialist. She’s my second, when I’m not around, you take orders from her,” he motioned towards Donna, who nodded and smiled at Mike.

“Call me Donna and don’t do anything that would annoy me,” greeted Donna.

“Yes, m- Donna.”

“He’s a quick learner,” Donna said to Harvey with a grin.

“Be nice,” scolded Harvey.

“This is Rachel Zane and Harold Jakowski,” he motioned toward Rachel then Harold. He saw Donna grin at him out of the corner of his eye as he watched Rachel and Harold shake hands with Mike.

“Okay, people. Now that we’ve got introductions out of the way, the first thing we’re doing is weapons training,” Harvey announced and started to walk towards the range. “Rachel, don’t think I don’t know that your hand was shaking yesterday,” He said before he started to talk to Mike about his weapon trainings and preferred weapons.

“How did he know?” Harvey heard Rachel ask Donna.

“He’s Harvey, it’s his job to know,” answered Donna.


	6. The shooting range

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team heads to the shooting range. First part of training.

When they reached the shooting range, Harvey went over to the lockers and took out two sniper rifles. He handed one of the rifles to Mike and the other to Rachel.   
  
“Rachel, I need you to be comfortable with a sniper rifle. I know that you didn’t specialize but if a situation calls for it, I need to know that I can count on you,” said Harvey.   
  
Rachel nodded, “You know you can always count on me.”   
  
“I know,” replied Harvey. He turned to Mike and smiled, “Let’s see if those records are true.”   
  
Mike smiled slightly and nodded. He took the bullets that Donna handed him then set to familiarize himself with it. After making sure that it was in operational order, he loaded it and sighted the farthest target then waited for the order to shoot.   
  
Harvey nodded as he watched Rachel and Mike set up their sniper rifles. He let Donna tell Harold about the scenario that they will be running. He moved back to stand next to Donna and gave the order to shoot, “Chest.”   
  
Harvey watched the stances that the two had and noted that Mike’s was more at ease than Rachel, who flinched when she fired.   
  
He felt Donna nudge him, “What?”   
  
“Binoculars, unless all that experience you have with a sniper rifle made you be able to see such a distance,” stated Donna, holding out a pair of binoculars for Harvey.   
  
“Thanks,” Harvey took the binoculars and checked the targets. Both Rachel and Mike hit the chest of the dummy but Mike hit a farther away target than Rachel.  _Good boy_ , thought Harvey.    
  
“Did Harold get it?” asked Harvey before calling the next shot.   
  
“Yep, he’s all for it. He never got a chance to play the,” she glanced at Mike and Rachel then leaned forward, “the perp.”   
  
Harvey nodded and continued calling out various body parts until both Rachel and Mike ran out of ammo. When they were done, Harvey had ordered them to put away the weapons then to head out to the training maze. He motioned Donna to walk ahead with Rachel and Harold while he stayed back to talk to Mike.   
  
“You’re tense,” He said walking next to Mike.   
  
Mike glanced up at him before looking back at the group ahead of them, “I’m not.”   
  
Harvey grabbed his arm to stop Mike. “Don’t lie to me. I won’t tolerate it, especially when it can affect your work.”   
  
“How?” asked Mike looking surprised.   
  
“You were comfortable shooting but for a couple of the shots, you were off. That and you tense up around me,” after Mike nodded, Harvey sighed. “I assume you know I spoke to Paul last night.”   
  
Mike nodded again and tried to get Harvey to let go but Harvey only tightened his grip.   
  
“We need to talk about this since this is now affecting your work.”   
  
“It’s n...” Mike sighed and stopped before he lied again, “Paul texted that you know about us.”   
  
“That was one of the topics that came up in the conversation. I wanted to know why you would transfer here when you had everything in L.A.”   
  
Mike nodded but didn’t reveal any information.   
  
Harvey let go of Mike’s arm and said, “You can tell me when you’re ready. I have nothing against you and Paul. He’s worried about you but damn proud of what you managed to achieve. If you get through the probation period, you’ll have a spot here.”   
  
Mike relaxed, “Thank you. I was worried that it would be uncomfortable knowing that the new person on the team slept with your brother.”   
  
“I said that I was okay with it, not that I want to know about my brother’s sex life.”   
  
“How often do the two of you talk?” Mike asked switching the topic.   
  
Harvey recognized the need to change the topic and smiled. He glanced up at the sky and said, “About 10 times a year or so. We exchange emails but we never actually talk about our personal lives unless it’s...”   
  
“I understand. Paul’s the same way. There’s certain things that he won’t talk about. I only found out about you, a year ago. He really is reserved about his personal life,” said Mike looking at Harvey.   
  
“It’s the way that we were raised,” replied Harvey. The two were silent the rest of the way to the training maze, listening to Donna, Harold and Jenny talk about their time in the bar last night.


End file.
